Archive for January, 2026

Advancing Adaptation: Mapping Costs From Cooling To Coastal Defenses
January 7th, 2026

Via McKinsey, a new report on how the benefits of adaptation far outweigh its costs. Yet, the world today spends just one-third of the amount needed to protect everyone exposed to hazards to developed-economy standards. What would it cost to adapt as the Earth warms, and how much will get spent? At a glance Societies […]

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Protecting Coasts Without Cooking The Planet
January 7th, 2026

Via the Salata Institute, an interesting look at how low-carbon, low-cost coastal resilience is possible if designers, builders, and policymakers work together: In the 2010s, when New York City decided to fortify the East River Promenade in the Lower East Side, it turned to a typical solution: emissions-intensive concrete and steel. Around the same time, […]

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Posted in Green Design, Resilient Infrastructure, Sea Level Rise | Comments Off on Protecting Coasts Without Cooking The Planet

Black Swans / Green Shoots examines the collision between urbanization and resource scarcity in a world affected by climate change, identifying opportunities to build sustainable cities and resilient infrastructure through the use of revolutionary capital, increased awareness, innovative technologies, and smart design to make a difference in the face of global and local climate perils.

'Black Swans' are highly improbable events that come as a surprise, have major disruptive effects, and that are often rationalized after the fact as if they had been predictable to begin with. In our rapidly warming world, such events are occurring ever more frequently and include wildfires, floods, extreme heat, and drought.

'Green Shoots' is a term used to describe signs of economic recovery or positive data during a downturn. It references a period of growth and recovery, when plants start to show signs of health and life, and, therefore, has been employed as a metaphor for a recovering economy.

It is my hope that Black Swans / Green Shoots will help readers understand both climate-activated risk and opportunity so that you may invest in, advise, or lead organizations in the context of increasing pressures of global urbanization, resource scarcity, and perils relating to climate change. I believe that the tools of business and finance can help individuals, businesses, and global society make informed choices about who and what to protect, and I hope that this blog provides some insight into the policy and private sector tools used to assess investments in resilient reinforcement, response, or recovery.

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